EP07: Psalm 6 - Not appointed to wrath
Share
0:00) Praise the Lord. I thank God for this morning and I thank God for the blessing of being able to share
(0:11) God's word together with you, having an audience and having people who God has handpicked for us
(0:24) to be blessed together as we share God's word. I want to thank God for each one of you
(0:31) I want to thank God for giving you life, for giving you breath (0:35) and even for bringing you here to be a part of this podcast.
(0:41) Today we are going to be studying Psalm chapter six and it is about
(0:51) it's still a prayer of David but today our teaching is titled Not Appointed to Wrath
(1:01) and so as we read through Psalm chapter six I pray that the Holy Spirit will help us to recognize
(1:09) the love of God in the midst of difficulty and to be able to pick the lessons that are
(1:16) that we need to pick and to be able to be not just hearers of the word but doers of the word as well.
(1:23) Let us pray before we read. Father in the name of Jesus what a wonderful day to be in your presence
(1:32) we worship you and we honor you and recognize that you are the king of kings
(1:37) that you are above all authority and all rule you're the source of life and breath you are the
(1:45) you are the architect of destinies Lord that the blueprint of our lives is before you
(1:52) you knew us before you formed us in our mother's womb you love us specially and you have orchestrated
(2:00) that on this day you would speak to us through the book of Psalms chapter six help our hearts
(2:06) to be receptive to your word help our minds to be alert and help our spirits to receive your word
(2:13) with gladness that we may become oaks of righteousness the planting of God that you may
(2:20) be glorified in our lives in Jesus name we've prayed amen so i'm going to be reading psalms
(2:28) chapter six you can listen and follow along and this is what it says oh lord rebuke me
(2:38) rebuke me not in thine anger neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure have mercy upon me
(2:48) oh lord for i am weak oh lord heal me for my bones are vexed my soul is also so vexed
(3:02) but thou oh lord how long return oh lord deliver my soul or save me for thy mercy's sake
(3:14) for in death there is no remembrance of thee in the grave who shall give thee thanks
(3:25) i am weary with my groaning all the night make i my bed to swim i water my couch with my tears
(3:39) mine eyes is consumed because of grief waxeth old because of all my enemies
(3:50) depart from me all you workers of iniquity for the lord has heard the voice of my weeping
(3:58) the lord has heard my supplication the lord will receive my prayer
(4:05) let all my enemies be ashamed and so vexed let them return and be ashamed suddenly
(4:15) this is the ending of this the end of our reading let us now go through it and hear
(4:22) what the holy spirit is teaching us so today our teaching we are going to learn
(4:30) something very beautiful about god that he has not appointed us and to wrath we are not appointed
(4:39) to wrath so let us go through each of these verses first of all in psalms chapter six
(4:50) one of the things that i i i picked while i was studying psalms chapter six
(4:55) is the art of crying out to god it is important to learn to cry out to god whenever we find
(5:05) ourselves the psalmist here calls it vexed vexed is like an old english word that that talks about
(5:17) um i think it would be like wrath or pain or distress so when we find ourselves in distressing
(5:34) situations it's good to learn to cry out to god because many times people run and cry out to
(5:41) people they cry out to friends some of them get notebooks and write down all the pain they have
(5:51) so they have those particular books where they write down you know our generation has many things
(5:57) that it uses to deal with situations but i would encourage us to learn to go to god and to cry out
(6:06) to god and then it shows a certain side of prayer a prayer that has heart and emotion
(6:16) in in it like putting heart and emotion into prayer quit this whole thing of making a wish list
(6:27) put your heart into prayer when you're talking to god tell him exactly what
(6:32) you feel what you're going through um do not take god for like do not be so
(6:43) aside yourself when you are in prayer that you just talk to god like some inanimate object or some
(6:51) distant being god is a god who loves to hear our heart and our emotion in prayer i think it's in
(7:02) james chapter 5 where they talk about the heartfelt continual prayer of a righteous man
(7:10) it makes power available that is dynamic in its working put your heart put your emotion
(7:19) in in your prayer so let us just read verse one says oh lord rebuke me not in your anger
(7:27) neither chastened me in thy court displeasure like god you correct me but not in wrath
(7:37) oh god in spite of your i recognize that you're correcting me i i recognize i've made mistakes I
(7:46) recognize i've not done or i have not walked according to your precepts according to your word
(7:55) oh lord as you discipline me because i know that you discipline those you love as you discipline
(8:01) me do not discipline me in wrath i'm a parent so let me talk about this sometimes when you're
(8:09) disciplining your children you can you can because they are especially when they were little
(8:16) because they are at your mercy sometimes because of the kind of thing they have done you you can
(8:21) really get so angry and and give them a punishment that is um or a correcting um measure corrective
(8:34) measure that is that is really hard that is big that is that is that is i think beyond their age
(8:41) sometimes and then maybe you go back to your bedroom and think you know i think i've i've done
(8:45) too much or i've i think i should reduce this punishment and david looks at god as a father
(8:53) and he said god i know i've made a mistake and i know that you're trying to correct me and i know
(8:58) and you're trying to discipline me you're trying to put me back on the right path when i'm praying
(9:02) and i'm asking you that lord don't do it out of anger like reconsider i'm going through so much
(9:10) please you reconsider i've understood my mistake and i want to get back to the right path
(9:16) reconsider the way that you are dealing with me as you're correcting me (9:24) verse two says have mercy upon me oh lord for i am weak oh lord heal me for my bones are vexed (9:36) um david says have mercy upon me oh lord for i am weak oh lord heal me for my bones are vexed
(9:44) oh my bones are troubled david went to god for relief he understood he had made mistakes
(9:51) and he says to god that i know that you're disciplining me he knows that he's being
(10:00) disciplined but he still runs to god for relief it is an obedient child it is a humble child who
(10:08) runs back to the parent and says that i'm sorry please i know that you have you are disciplining
(10:13) me but you help me it is the rebellious child who says this is too much and runs out of the house
(10:19) and goes and says i don't i cannot deal with this i can't deal with my parents they are just too much
(10:24) david understood that god is a merciful god he knew that god will look kindly upon him
(10:30) in his kindness that's why he says to god in verse one that uh do not rebuke me in your anger correct
(10:38) me in love neither chest in or discipline me in your hot displeasure you see uh god disciplines
(10:48) those he loves that is the truth he said that as a father disciplines his son so god disciplines
(10:55) those that he loves it is only an illegitimate child that is not corrected but he also understood
(11:03) that even if god is holy and god is disciplining him and god is teaching him to do the right thing
(11:09) yet he he depended on the mercy of god to david god was a real father and i pray that god will
(11:16) help us today that we will see god as father and that we will have this kind of relationship with
(11:22) him where we can go to him and seek his mercy to understand the attributes of god and know him as
(11:29) a father and to have the courage to come back to him and asking god you reduce this punishment oh
(11:36) or correct me in love and not in in growth let me let's let us look at first thessalonians chapter
(11:44) five verse nine it says okay i'm just going to quote a bit of it it says god has not destined
(11:51) or appointed us for wrath but to obtain salvation through our lord jesus christ see the reason that
(11:59) god is punishing him it's not that actually god is not punishing him god god i can't call it
(12:05) punishment and because god um put his entire wrath and punishment on jesus christ his son
(12:14) whom he whom he whom he presented as the appropriate sacrifice for our sin he put a punishment
(12:23) what whatever what would what is appropriate for the punishment of sin which the bible says
(12:28) the wages of of sin is death he put death on christ jesus he put the the ultimate wrath
(12:37) like the ultimate wrath of god was put on christ jesus so we are not appointed unto wrath he put
(12:42) that on jesus christ but god still disciplines those he loves god still corrects us when we
(12:48) when we go astray god poured out his wrath on jesus christ for us god's discipline can also
(12:56) be painful like the fact that he put his wrath on jesus christ doesn't mean that discipline
(13:01) will not be painful like if you found a thief if people like here in in africa sometimes
(13:09) you find that people the justice system people don't trust the justice system of their nation so
(13:14) when they find like a thief in the in the public square they usually they can easily beat the
(13:20) death but the way you treat a thief is not the way you treat your child and so even if you're
(13:27) punishing your child you don't beat the child like you're beating a thief but even when you're
(13:33) punishing the child the punishment will be painful the chores you give them to do will be painful
(13:39) the discipline that you give them will be painful the bible talks about do not spare the road and
(13:46) spoil the child do not spare the road of discipline and spoil the child because it knows
(13:51) that god knows that even for us as parents it is painful for us to see our children suffer because
(13:58) of the discipline that we are rendering them but the bible says god disciplines those who he loves
(14:03) and as as as christian parents we are called to uh correct our children when they go wrong
(14:10) but the correction will still be what uh will still be painful and um in hebrews chapter 12
(14:16) verse 11 the writer of hebrews says that all discipline i'm quoting just a bit of it says all
(14:24) discipline seems painful rather than pleasant but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness
(14:33) to those who have been trained by it it yields it yields it benefits it gives that this is a
(14:42) benefit of discipline it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness we find ourselves in the right
(14:48) path find ourselves doing the right thing we find ourselves abandoning the the wrong path the path
(14:55) of fraud the path of wickedness the path of unrighteousness and and he says it yields the
(15:02) peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it and when i look at this
(15:07) i feel like saying underlining the words trained by it being willing to to to be
(15:17) to recognize what god is doing in our lives and to grow through it like the discipline may be there
(15:24) the pain may be there but you're like i'm going to endure discipline i'm going to i remember paul
(15:31) enduring hardness as a good soldier of christ enduring discipline and staying in god's in god's
(15:41) training camp and then learning from what he has he's presenting to us and then being transformed
(15:49) by by it embracing all we are after we're encouraged to embrace all suffering as discipline
(15:58) do not be stiff-necked when going through discipline but learn from discipline the discipline
(16:07) is having a physical like when you look at david here this discipline is having a physical
(16:14) mental and emotional effect it is difficult discipline and that is why he cries out and
(16:21) god how long i don't think david is expecting god to give him a timeline but he's when he's
(16:28) saying how long he's asking god to reconsider because he has gone through a lot of pain
(16:35) let me just read to you so that you can see the physical the mental the emotional effect this
(16:41) discipline is having on him he says oh lord rebuke me not in thine anger neither chasten me in thine
(16:48) hot displeasure have mercy upon me oh lord for i am weak this is physical i am weak and then he
(16:56) cries out for god's mercy says oh lord heal me for my bones are vexed they are troubled this is
(17:03) physical my soul now that is emotional my soul is also so vexed like i might feel like my soul
(17:13) is wounded my emotions are wounded from what i'm going through this this feels like it's too much
(17:18) and then he says but thou oh lord how long like god dear god how long and then he says return he
(17:26) asked god that if he can change his mind or if he can turn towards him he says return oh lord
(17:34) deliver my soul or save me for thy mercy's sake and even tells god that you know god
(17:43) the dead cannot be remembered like but he's not talking about spiritual death he's talking about
(17:49) physical death it's like if if my body if life is removed out of my body i cannot i cannot give
(17:56) you thanks i cannot praise you it is hard for a lifeless body to praise you so he's giving reasons
(18:03) and he says i am weary with my groanings this is emotional this is emotional pain inside of him
(18:12) and he says i'm wearing weary with my groanings all night make i my bed to swim
(18:21) i water my couch with my tears like i'm crying all night long my eyes my eyes consumed because
(18:30) of grief it is it works it is waxing old because of all my enemies like it is too much
(18:42) he feels like he can't take it and it's like he has been handed over to his enemies that's why he
(18:47) says because of all my enemies and so you know a time reaches i and and god usually uses uh people
(18:58) to chasten us his children i remember the children of israel uh if you read through the book of
(19:04) judges and even later on before they went to babylon they were exiled in babylon the children
(19:10) of israel had been told to abandon idol worship when they were there used to be the children of
(19:17) jacob they used to serve god when they were with their father jacob before they entered into egypt
(19:21) you know during the time of famine when joseph became prince of egypt and then the children of
(19:27) jacob came and lived in goshen and they at the beginning they did so well but then they fell
(19:33) after that for did not know joseph and did not know the children of israel so they turned into
(19:37) they were turning to slaves but while they were living in egypt they moved from serving god
(19:42) here away and they started serving the gods of egypt they learned idolatry from egypt and they
(19:48) came all the way through the wilderness god was dealing with idolatry remember when moses went up
(19:55) the mountain to pray and the children of israel decided to make a golden calf they were idolatry
(20:03) was so entrenched in them that they started the it was hard to tear it away from them that is one of
(20:10) the disadvantages of the children of jacob entering egypt during the time of of joseph they learned
(20:17) idolatry they learned to worship idols and all through the i mean they go all the way in the
(20:23) entire into the promised land god has helped them god has blessed them god has opened doors for them
(20:27) and now they are in the promised land and they are still into idolatry they went and now live
(20:34) they want the gods of egypt they now went to the gods they are syrian gods they go to gods from
(20:39) the people that lived around them the gods of all these they are melekites and all kinds of things
(20:45) and for a very very long time god fought with the children of israel and whenever they would do wrong
(20:54) whenever they would go astray what would happen was he would let their enemies come and attack
(21:01) them and they would and these people would come and take their grain they would come and and fight
(21:08) them there were wars there were famines there was pestilence and plagues and then they would cry out
(21:15) to god and god would come and and respond to them i mean it was just too much when you read through
(21:20) the book of ezekiel they talk about how god was trying to draw a picture for them that i found you
(21:26) you had no one to help you you were a child you were spoiled you were dirty i now picked you up i
(21:32) cleaned you up i put on you beautiful apparel i put on you jewels and now you became attractive
(21:39) and now went and sold yourself like a hollow to all these other gods and i was so vexed with you
(21:45) the bible talks about how at the end of the day he took them into babylon he caused babylon to come
(21:51) and have uh preeminence over them and drive them out of their land and they went and became and
(21:58) lived in babylon and they were oppressed in babylon for 70 years but during that period of 70 years
(22:05) god used the babylonian oppression to remove idolatry from them that's why you see the
(22:12) children of israel later on when during the time of jesus they are not into idolatry they have
(22:19) maybe gone into this weird religion religiosity where they have the the scribes and the pharisees
(22:26) and the and and and and and the sadducees have a a way of looking at god which is different from
(22:36) what jesus is trying to show them but at least they are not in idolatry and so you read you
(22:43) recognize that many times whenever we go astray from god god hands us over into the hands of our
(22:51) enemies for discipline and that is what david is talking about where he says uh in verse seven my
(22:59) my eyes my eye is consumed because of grief it waxeth old because of all my enemies like he had
(23:09) been handed into the hands of his enemy his enemies so he he's praying to god let's go back
(23:17) to verse four he's praying to god and he's saying turn or return and save me because
(23:23) of your steadfast love so david is going through discipline but god's david still recognizes the
(23:31) attribute of god's love can you imagine you're going through so much pain you're going through
(23:37) so much sorrow you hardly can sleep at night and you know that it is because of the way you have
(23:43) been living wickedly and you know god is trying to discipline you but in spite of all that you're
(23:49) going through you still can see the attribute of god's steadfast love that is now really remarkable
(23:56) and he says in spite of the pain and the suffering that i am going through i know that god loves me
(24:04) i know it i know it for sure i may be being vexed i may be having enemies against me i may be going
(24:11) through so much pain i could hardly sleep at night but one thing i'm sure about i know david had this
(24:18) very close father son relationship with god that he recognized that in spite of all that i'm going
(24:25) through i know that god loves me god david did not allow his suffering to alter his view of who god
(24:34) is he refused to let his suffering alter his view of the character of god he refused to let his
(24:40) suffering alter his view of the love of god regardless of people's experiences of pain
(24:47) and suffering don't let experiences alter the reality of who god is if you do your faith will
(24:54) fail don't don't don't base your your your um the picture that you have of god don't base it on the
(25:05) experiences of men recognize that god god is good despite the things that you're going through despite
(25:14) the things you're facing in spite of what other people are facing or what their lives look like
(25:21) may it never blind blind your your your eyes to the actual attribute of who god is god is good
(25:29) and his mercies they endure forever in fact rather look into yourself and say where is the mistake
(25:37) what is god trying to correct what is trying god trying to do and you are all suffering or view all
(25:43) struggle or suffering as discipline always look into yourself because god god is the bible says
(25:50) god says i am god i change not god does not change god does not change in his attribute of holiness
(25:57) he does not change in his attribute attribute of mercy his justice does not change his righteousness
(26:03) that does not change his love does not change the attributes of god or who god is does not change
(26:09) you see if god changed he would stop being god what makes him god is that he does not change
(26:17) nothing of it is his character that makes him god so if anything altered in his character he would
(26:23) cease to be god and that is why it's important to look at him and know that god he does not change
(26:28) his character is good his character is holy his character is righteousness his character
(26:34) is mercy that is just who god is god has steadfast love and david knew god
(26:42) god he knew that god was listening to him and and that god really cared about him that's why
(26:49) david was drawn to prayer that's why david was drawn to prayer and i pray that you understand
(26:56) the attributes of god and that will cause you to be drawn to the place of prayer let me read
(27:01) verse five again says in death there is no remembrance of thee in the grave who shall give
(27:10) thee thanks um i want you um i want us to look at second timothy chapter 1 verse 10
(27:21) just looking at eternal life i'm just going to quote a bit a part of it it says our savior christ
(27:27) jesus who has abolished death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel
(27:35) like the the view of most people in the old testament most apart from a few who had a
(27:41) revelation of of life after death most people thought the grave was the end they thought that
(27:49) is where everything ends but as time went on in the in christ jesus the resurrection of jesus
(27:57) christ from the grave is one of the most outstanding things that happened or or explanation
(28:06) or revelation of we live beyond the grave jesus tried to demonstrate it when he would raise the
(28:13) the the child of the woman at nain and the person yeah came from the grave but that person also
(28:21) later died lazarus had been in the grave okay jersey's daughter was raised to life but later
(28:27) on she also died um um lazarus was raised to from the grave after four days but he later on also
(28:36) but jesus christ ever lives intercede for us jesus christ he's being raised from the grave the fact
(28:44) that his remains cannot be found the fact that the grave is empty is one of the greatest revelation
(28:50) of we live beyond the grave like our lifeless body is is not um is not something to cause us
(29:00) to be worried or the lifeless body of our loved ones is not something that causes us to be worried
(29:05) we should know that beyond beyond the movements of this external casing called the body the real
(29:16) essence of human life continues forever and ever the question is only where does the soul go after
(29:25) this lifetime but without looking even at that just know that you will never die you never die
(29:33) man does not die actual death is separation from god it is the second death the one that jesus
(29:40) christ i think the last podcast we talked about jesus said i'll teach you who to fear i fear him
(29:45) who can destroy both the body and the soul you see it is only god who can switch off the body
(29:50) and switch off the soul and he said that is the one whom you should fear because god is the giver of
(29:57) he's the giver